Bis(hydroxymethyl)furan (BHMF) is a promising biomass-derived polymer platform, but it is incompatible with traditional methods used for synthesizing polycarbonates (PCs) owing to its thermal instability. In this study, BHMF-based furanic (FR) PCs were prepared successfully at a relatively low temperature through the mediation of carbonyldiimidazole. The low T-g of aliphatic FR-PCs was controlled elaborately, exploiting the reactivity of furan in the Diels-Alder reactions and the molecular rigidity of the resulting oxabicycles. (c) 2019 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Polym. Sci., Part A: Polym. Chem. 2019, 57, 1796-1800